Life Sciences Commons^™

Predicting Spatial Spread Of Rabies In Skunk Populations Using Surveillance Data Reported By The Public, Kim M. Pepin, Amy J. Davis, Daniel G. Streicker, Justin W. Fischer, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Amy T. Gilbert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background - Prevention and control of wildlife disease invasions relies on the ability to predict spatio-temporal dynamics and understand the role of factors driving spread rates, such as seasonality and transmission distance. Passive disease surveillance (i.e., case reports by public) is a common method of monitoring emergence of wildlife diseases, but can be challenging to interpret due to spatial biases and limitations in data quantity and quality.

Methodology/Principal findings- We obtained passive rabies surveillance data from dead striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) in an epizootic in northern Colorado, USA. We developed a dynamic patch-occupancy model which predicts spatio-temporal spreading …

Rabies Virus Antibodies From Oral Vaccination As A Correlate Of Protection Against Lethal Infection In Wildlife, Susan M. Moore, Amy Gilbert, Ad Vos, Conrad M. Freuling, Christine K. Ellis, Jeannette Kliemt, Thomas Müller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Both cell-mediated and humoral immune effectors are important in combating rabies infection, although the humoral response receives greater attention regarding rabies prevention. The principle of preventive vaccination has been adopted for strategies of oral rabies vaccination (ORV) of wildlife reservoir populations for decades to control circulation of rabies virus in free-ranging hosts. There remains much debate about the levels of rabies antibodies (and the assays to measure them) that confer resistance to rabies virus. In this paper, data from published literature and our own unpublished animal studies on the induction of rabies binding and neutralizing antibodies following oral immunization of …

Towards Canine Rabies Elimination In Cebu, Philippines: Assessment Of Health Economic Data, L. M. Miranda, M. E. Miranda, B. Hatch, R. Deray, S. A. Shwiff, M. C. Roces, C. E. Rupprecht

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rabies is endemic in the Philippines. In 2010, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a canine rabies elimination project was initiated in the Philippine Archipelago of Visayan. We conducted an analysis of dog vaccination and human PEP costs for dog bite patients in a highly urbanized area and a low-income rural municipality in Cebu Province, Philippines, from 2010 to 2012. Our findings indicated that eliminating rabies in dogs through mass vaccination is more cost-effective than treating rabies exposures in humans. The average costs (in USD) per human life saved through PEP were $1620.28 in Cebu City and …

Diversity And Phylogenetic Relationships Among Bartonella Strains From Thai Bats, Clifton D. Mckee, Michael Y. Kosoy, Ying Bai, Lynn M. Osikowicz, Richard Franka, Amy T. Gilbert, Sumalee Boonmar, Charles E. Rupprecht, Leonard Peruski

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Bartonellae are phylogenetically diverse, intracellular bacteria commonly found in mammals. Previous studies have demonstrated that bats have a high prevalence and diversity of Bartonella infections globally. Isolates (n = 42) were obtained from five bat species in four provinces of Thailand and analyzed using sequences of the citrate synthase gene (gltA). Sequences clustered into seven distinct genogroups; four of these genogroups displayed similarity with Bartonella spp. sequences from other bats in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Thirty of the isolates representing these seven genogroups were further characterized by sequencing four additional loci (ftsZ, nuoG, rpoB, …

An Assessment Of Radiative Heating As A Thermal Treatment For Invasive Snakes In Cargo, Fred Kraus, Randal S. Stahl, William Pitt

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) is invasive in Guam and presents a continuous threat of accidental export to new islands in outbound cargo. Current attempts to avoid that scenario rely primarily on canine teams to inspect outbound cargo and vehicles. In prior work, we showed that thermal fumigation could effectively elicit snake exit of cargo under conditions when free flow of air streams is feasible, but this method cannot work with tightly packed cargo. Here we show radiative heating can effectively induce snake exit from cargo refuges at temperatures of 44–48 C; however, we find passive solar …

Development Of Known-Fate Survival Monitoring Techniques For Juvenile Wild Pigs (Sus Scrofa), David A. Keiter, John C. Kilgo, Mark A. Vukovich, Fred L. Cunningham, James C. Beasley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Context. Wild pigs are an invasive species linked to numerous negative impacts on natural and anthropogenic ecosystems in many regions of the world. Robust estimates of juvenile wild pig survival are needed to improve population dynamics models to facilitate management of this economically and ecologically important invasive species. Despite this critical knowledge gap, to date no successful known-fate study of wild piglet survival (age) has been conducted, due to a lack of appropriate method for this species.

Aims. To aid in locating and tagging neonates, we piloted the use of vaginal implant transmitters (VITs) in adult wild pigs and …

Quantifying Drivers Of Wild Pig Movement Across Multiple Spatial And Temporal Scales, Shannon L. Kay, Justin W. Fischer, Andrew J. Monaghan, James C. Beasley, Raoul Boughton, Tyler A. Campbell, Susan M. Cooper, Stephen S. Ditchkoff, Steve B. Hartley, John C. Kilgo, Samantha M. Wisely, A. Christy Wyckoff, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Kim M. Pepin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background: The movement behavior of an animal is determined by extrinsic and intrinsic factors that operate at multiple spatio-temporal scales, yet much of our knowledge of animal movement comes from studies that examine only one or two scales concurrently. Understanding the drivers of animal movement across multiple scales is crucial for understanding the fundamentals of movement ecology, predicting changes in distribution, describing disease dynamics, and identifying efficient methods of wildlife conservation and management.

Methods: We obtained over 400,000 GPS locations of wild pigs from 13 different studies spanning six states in southern U.S.A., and quantified movement rates and home …

Addressing The Gender Gap In Distinguished Speakers At Professional Ecology Conferences, Cooper M. Farr, Sara P. Bombaci, Travis Gallo, Anna M. Mangan, Hannah L. Riedl, Lani T. Stinson, Kate Wilkins, Drew E. Bennett, Theresa Nogeire-Mcrae, Liba Pejchar

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Keynote and plenary speakers at professional conferences serve as highly visible role models for early-career scientists and provide recognition of scientific excellence. This recognition may be particularly important for women, who are underrepresented in senior positions in the biological sciences. To evaluate whether conferences fulfill this potential, we examined distinguished speakers at North American ecology conferences between 2000 and 2015 and compared these data with the percentage of women ecologists at diverse career stages. We found that 15%–35% (x = 28%, n = 809) of the distinguished speakers were women, which is significantly lower than the percentage of female ecology …

Use Of Fecal Volatile Organic Compound Analysis To Discriminate Between Nonvaccinated And Bcg-Vaccinated Cattle Prior To And After Mycobacterium Bovis Challenge, Christine K. Ellis, Somchai Rice, Devin Maurer, Randal S. Stahl, W. Ray Waters, Mitchell V. Palmer, Pauline Nol, Jack C. Rhyan, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Jacek A. Koziel

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Bovine tuberculosis is a zoonotic disease of global public health concern. Development of diagnostic tools to improve test accuracy and efficiency in domestic livestock and enable surveillance of wildlife reservoirs would improve disease management and eradication efforts. Use of volatile organic compound analysis in breath and fecal samples is being developed and optimized as a means to detect disease in humans and animals. In this study we demonstrate that VOCs present in fecal samples can be used to discriminate between non-vaccinated and BCG-vaccinated cattle prior to and after Mycobacterium bovis challenge.

Winter And Summer Home Ranges Of American White Pelicans (Pelecanus Erythrorhynchos) Captured At Loafing Sites In The Southeastern United States, D. Tommy King, Justin W. Fischer, Bronson K. Strickland, W. David Walter, Fred L. Cunningham, Guiwang Wang

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Satellite telemetry was used to investigate summer and winter home ranges for resident and migrant American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) captured in the southeastern United States between 2002 and 2007. Home range utilization distributions were calculated using 50% and 95% kernel density estimators with the plug-in bandwidth selector. Mean summer home ranges (95%) varied from 177 to 4,710 km² and mean winter home ranges (95%) ranged from 185 to 916 km². Mean 50% and 95% home ranges of adult American White Pelicans during summer tended to be larger than those during winter, whereas mean 50% and …

Control Of Invasive Rats On Islands And Priorities For Future Action, Quiterie Duron, Aaron B. Shiels, Eric Vidal

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive rats are one of the world’s most successful animal groups that cause native species extinctions and ecosystem change, particularly on islands. On large islands, rat eradication is often impossible and population control, defined as the local limitation of rat abundance, is now routinely performed on many of the world’s islands as an alternative management tool. However, a synthesis of the motivations, techniques, costs, and outcomes of such rat-control projects is lacking. We reviewed the literature, searched relevant websites, and conducted a survey via a questionnaire to synthesize the available information on rat-control projects in island natural areas worldwide to …

Studies Of Wolf X Coyote Hybridization Via Artificial Insemination, L. David Mech, Cheryl S. Asa, Margaret Callahan, Bruce W. Christensen, Fran Smith, Julie K. Young

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Following the production of western gray wolf (Canis lupus) x western coyote (Canis latrans) hybrids via artificial insemination (AI), the present article documents that the hybrids survived in captivity for at least 4 years and successfully bred with each other. It further reports that backcrossing one of the hybrids to a male gray wolf by AI also resulted in the birth of live pups that have survived for at least 10 months. All male hybrids (F₁ and F₂) produced sperm by about 10 months of age, and sperm quality of the F_{1 …}

Evidence Of Leptospirosis In The Kidneys And Serum Of Feral Swine (Sus Scrofa) In The United States, K. K. Pedersen, T. D. Anderson, S. N. Bevins, K. L. Pabilonia, P. N. Whitley, D. R. Virchow, T. Gidlewski

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Leptospirosis is the most widespread zoonosis in humans worldwide. In the United States, widespread detection of antibodies to leptospirosis have been identified in feral swine (Sus scrofa) with the highest detection of serovars, Bratislava, Icterohaemorrhagiae, and Pomona. Over the past few years, feral swine populations have expanded their geographical range and distribution in the United States with reports in at least 39 of 50 states. Since feral swine serve as reservoirs for serovars that can infect humans, it is important to understand the risk of transmission. In order to learn more about the probability that feral swine shed infectious …

Genetic Demography At The Leading Edge Of The Distribution Of A Rabies Virus Vector, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Amy L. Russell, Ignacio A. Osorio, Alejandro Jiménez Ramírez, Justin W. Fischer, Jennifer L. Neuwald, Annie E. Tibbels, Luis Lecuona, Gary F. Mccracken

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus, ranges from South America into northern Mexico in North America. This sanguivorous species of bat feeds primarily on medium to large-sized mammals and is known to rely on livestock as primary prey. Each year, there are hotspot areas of D. rotundus-specific rabies virus outbreaks that lead to the deaths of livestock and economic losses. Based on incidental captures in our study area, which is an area of high cattle mortality from D. rotundus transmitted rabies, it appears that D. rotundus are being caught regularly in areas and elevations where they previously were …

Differential Impacts Of Wildfire On The Population Dynamics Of An Old-Forest Species, Jeremy T. Rockweit, Alan B. Franklin, Peter C. Carlson

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Ecological disturbances shape and maintain natural communities, but climate change and human land use can alter disturbance regimes and affect population persistence and vital rates in unpredictable ways. Species inhabiting landscapes shaped by wildfire have evolved mechanisms allowing them to persist under this dynamic disturbance type, which creates habitats of varying quality for these species. We utilized data from a 26-yr demographic study of northern spotted owls to analyze the influence of wildfire on apparent survival and recruitment rates. Wildfires occurred across different years and affected different spotted owl territories, which allowed us to implement a retrospective Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) analysis …

Transmission Of H6n2 Wild Bird-Origin Influenza A Virus Among Multiple Bird Species In A Stacked-Cage Setting, J. Jeffrey Root, Susan A. Shriner, Jeremy W. Ellis, Kaci K. Vandalen, Alan B. Franklin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Live bird markets are common in certain regions of the U.S. and in other regions of the world. We experimentally tested the ability of a wild bird influenza A virus to transmit from index animals to naive animals at varying animal densities in stacked cages in a simulated live bird market. Two and six mallards, five and twelve quail, and six and nine pheasants were used in the low-density and high-density stacks of cages, respectively. Transmission did not occur in the high-density stack of cages likely due to the short duration and relatively low levels of shedding, a dominance of …

Investigation Of Techniques To Measure Cortisol And Testosterone Concentrations In Coyote Hair, Christopher J. Schell, Julie K. Young, Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf, Jill M. Mateo, Rachel M. Santymire

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Long-term noninvasive sampling for endangered or elusive species is particularly difficult due to the challenge of collecting fecal samples before hormone metabolite desiccation, as well as the difficulty in collecting a large enough sample size from all individuals. Hair samples may provide an environmentally stable alternative that provides a long-term assessment of stress and reproductive hormone profiles for captive, zoo, and wild mammals. Here, we extracted and analyzed both cortisol and testosterone in coyote (Canis latrans) hair for the first time. We collected samples from 5-week old coyote pups (six female, six male) housed at the USDA-NWRC Predator …

Cross-Species Transmission Potential Between Wild Pigs, Livestock, Poultry, Wildlife, And Humans: Implications For Disease Risk Management In North America, Ryan S. Miller, Steven J. Sweeney, Chris Slootmaker, Daniel A. Grear, Paul A. Di Salvo, Deborah Kiser, Stephanie A. Shwiff

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Cross-species disease transmission between wildlife, domestic animals and humans is an increasing threat to public and veterinary health. Wild pigs are increasingly a potential veterinary and public health threat. Here we investigate 84 pathogens and the host species most at risk for transmission with wild pigs using a network approach. We assess the risk to agricultural and human health by evaluating the status of these pathogens and the co-occurrence of wild pigs, agriculture and humans. We identified 34 (87%) OIE listed swine pathogens that cause clinical disease in livestock, poultry, wildlife, and humans. On average 73% of bacterial, 39% of …

Sudden Appearance And Population Outbreak Of Eunica Monima (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) On Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico, Aaron B. Shiels, William P. Haines, Kirsty J. Swinnerton, Susan Silander, Cielo Figuerola-Hernández, David Will, Juan G. García-Cancel, Christian W. Torres-Santana

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We documented the appearance and elevated abundance of the uncommon dingy purplewing butterfly, Eunica monima (Stoll) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), and pronounced herbivory on its host plant Bursera simaruba (L.) Sarg. (Burseraceae) shortly after island-wide rat (Rattus rattus [L.]; Muridae) removal from Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico. We confirmed the species as E. monima by using both molecular and morphological analyses of larvae and adults. This is a first-time record of E. monima for the island of Desecheo, one of relatively few documented appearances in Puerto Rico during the last 100 yr, and an uncommon documentation of an outbreak of this species …

Optimization Of Human, Animal, And Environmental Health By Using The One Health Approach, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Thomas J. Deliberto, Natalie Nguyen

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Emerging diseases are increasing burdens on public health, negatively affecting the world economy, causing extinction of species, and disrupting ecological integrity. One Health recognizes that human, domestic animal, and wildlife health are interconnected within ecosystem health and provides a framework for the development of multidisciplinary solutions to global health challenges. To date, most health-promoting interventions have focused largely on single-sector outcomes. For example, risk for transmission of zoonotic pathogens from bush-meat hunting is primarily focused on human hygiene and personal protection. However, bush-meat hunting is a complex issue promoting the need for holistic strategies to reduce transmission of zoonotic disease …

Different Prey Resources Suggest Little Competition Between Non-Native Frogs And Insectivorous Birds Despite Isotopic Niche Overlap, Robyn L. Smith, Karen H. Beard, Aaron B. Shiels

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Non-native amphibians often compete with native amphibians in their introduced range, but their competitive effects on other vertebrates are less well known. The Puerto Rican coqui frog (Eleutherodactylus coqui) has colonized the island of Hawaii, and has been hypothesized to compete with insectivorous birds and bats. To address if the coqui could compete with these vertebrates, we used stable isotope analyses to compare the trophic position and isotopic niche overlap between the coqui, three insectivorous bird species, and the Hawaiian hoary bat. Coquis shared similar trophic position to Hawaii amakihi, Japanese white-eye, and red-billed leiothrix. Coquis were about …

Comparison Of A Micro-Neutralization Test With The Rapid Fluorescent Focus Inhibition Test For Measuring Rabies Virus Neutralizing Antibodies, Todd G. Smith, Amy T. Gilbert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT) is routinely used in the United States to measure rabies virus neutralizing antibodies (rVNA). RFFIT has a long history of reproducible and reliable results. The test has been modified over the years to use smaller volumes of reagents and samples, but requires a 50 μL minimum volume of test serum. To conduct pathogenesis studies, small laboratory animals such as mice are regularly tested for rVNA, but the minimum volume for a standard RFFIT may be impossible to obtain, particularly in scenarios of repeated sampling. To address this problem, a micro-neutralization test was developed …

Development Of Toxic Bait To Control Invasive Wild Pigs And Reduce Damage, Nathan P. Snow, Justin A. Foster, John C. Kinsey, Simon T. Humphrys, Linton D. Staples, David G. Hewitt, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Populations of invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are increasing in many regions of the world, in particular the United States and Australia. Invasive wild pigs cause extensive damage to ecological resources and agriculture. Development and registration of a safe and humane toxic bait offers a practical and cost effective tool to control invasive species. Currently, no toxicants are approved for use on invasive wild pigs in the United States and those approved in Australia are under scrutiny because of concerns regarding humaneness and effects on nontarget species. We tested a newly formulated bait containing the microencapsulated active ingredient, …

Strength Testing Of Raccoons And Invasive Wild Pigs For A Species-Specific Bait Station, Nathan P. Snow, Michael J. Lavelle, Joseph M. Halseth, Chad R. Blass, Justin A. Foster, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

With the development of a toxic bait (HOGGONE®) for the control of invasive wild pig (IWP; Sus scrofa) populations in the United States, there is a need to develop a bait station to mitigate potential effects on nontarget species. Our objective was to identify characteristics of a bait station that can successfully exclude raccoons (Procyon lotor)—a ubiquitous and dexterous nontarget species—while facilitating bait consumption by IWPs that exhibit group-feeding behaviors. We evaluated abilities of captive raccoons (n = 19) and IWPs (n = 41) to open the lids of prototype resistance assessment bait stations (RABS) …

Anthropogenic Factors Predict Movement Of An Invasive Species, Michael A. Tabak, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Ryan S. Miller, Rick A. Sweitzer, Holly B. Ernest

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Humans are playing an increasingly large role in the expansion of invasive species’ distributions, but few (if any) studies have evaluated anthropogenic factors associated with intentional translocation of invasives. The wild pig (Sus scrofa) is an extremely destructive and rapidly expanding invasive species whose movement is thought to be facilitated by humans.We sought to (1) identify a suite of genetic markers that can be applied to population genetic analyses of wild pigs, (2) find quantitative evidence of human-mediated dispersal of wild pigs, and (3) determine which anthropogenic factors were associated with their translocation. We identified 43 polymorphic microsatellite …

Greater Sage-Grouse Nest Survival In Northwestern Wyoming, Jimmy D. Taylor Ii, R. Douglas Holt, Elizabeth K. Orning, Julie K. Young

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Nest survival, along with female survival and chick survival, is the most important vital rates to population growth of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse). We used global positioning system and very high-frequency transmitters on female sage-grouse to identify 204 nests and monitor incubation on 5 sites in the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming from 2011 to 2014; we determined nest fate and identified predators with camera traps. We used an information-theoretic approach to compare 6 a priori nest survival models. Nest survival was best described by a model that included differences across study sites and ranged from 0.20±0.01 (SE) to …

Den Use And Heterothermy During Winter In Free-Living, Suburban Striped Skunks, Tad C. Theimer, Cory T. Williams, Shylo R. Johnson, Amy T. Gilbert, David L. Bergman, C. Loren Buck

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Many mammals use heterothermy to meet challenges of reduced food availability and low temperatures, but little is known about the prevalence of heterothermy in wild mesocarnivores. We monitored body temperature (T_b) in free-living striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) through winter 2015–2016 in suburban Flagstaff, Arizona, a high-elevation site that experiences temperate winters. Subcutaneous T_b and heterothermy index (HI) were significantly affected by ambient temperature, and varied significantly across 7 skunks in midwinter. Twenty-one of 36 (58%) unique diurnal dens used by skunks were associated with human structures, and although females were found in dens under houses …

The Impact Of Poverty On Dog Ownership And Access To Canine Rabies Vaccination: Results From A Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices Survey, Uganda 2013, Ryan M. Wallace, Jason Mehal, Yoshinori Nakazawa, Sergio Recuenco, Barnabas Bakamutumaho, Modupe Osinubi, Victor Tugumizemu, Jesse D. Blanton, Amy T. Gilbert, Joseph Wamala

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background: Rabies is a neglected disease despite being responsible for more human deaths than any other zoonosis. A lack of adequate human and dog surveillance, resulting in low prioritization, is often blamed for this paradox. Estimation methods are often employed to describe the rabies burden when surveillance data are not available, however these figures are rarely based on country-specific data.

Methods: In 2013 a knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey was conducted in Uganda to understand dog population, rabies vaccination, and human rabies risk factors and improve in-country and regional rabies burden estimates. Poisson and multi-level logistic regression techniques were conducted …

Rising Fluoroquinolone Resistance In Campylobacter Isolated From Feedlot Cattle In The United States, Yizhi Tang, Orhan Sahin, Nada Pavlovic, Jeff Lejeune, James C. Carlson, Zuowei Wu, Lei Dai, Qijing Zhang

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Antibiotic resistance, particularly to fluoroquinolones and macrolides, in the major foodborne pathogen Campylobacter is considered a serious threat to public health. Although ruminant animals serve as a significant reservoir for Campylobacter, limited information is available on antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter of bovine origin. Here, we analyzed the antimicrobial susceptibilities of 320 C. jejuni and 115 C. coli isolates obtained from feedlot cattle farms in multiple states in the U.S. The results indicate that fluoroquinolone resistance reached to 35.4% in C. jejuni and 74.4% in C. coli, which are significantly higher than those previously reported in the U.S. While all fluoroquinolone resistant …

Restricted Cross-Scale Habitat Selection By American Beavers, Robert A. Francis, Jimmy D. Taylor, Eric Dibble, Bronson Strickland, Vanessa M. Petro, Christine Easterwood, Guiming Wang

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Animal habitat selection, among other ecological phenomena, is spatially scale dependent. Habitat selection by American beavers Castor canadensis (hereafter, beaver) has been studied at singular spatial scales, but to date no research addresses multi-scale selection. Our objectives were to determine if beaver habitat selection was specialized to semiaquatic habitats and if variables explaining habitat selection are consistent between landscape and fine spatial scales. We built maximum entropy (MaxEnt) models to relate landscape-scale presence-only data to landscape variables, and used generalized linearmixed models to evaluate fine spatial scale habitat selection using global positioning system (GPS) relocation data. Explanatory variables between the …